Bilal Adi, Hakeem Co-Founder & CEO

Merak Capital, a Saudi-based multi-strategy investment firm managing more than SAR 3 billion across 10 investment funds, has led a $1.65 million funding round into Hakeem Health alongside Sanabil 500.

The investment supports the expansion of HakeemDx, Hakeem Health’s AI-powered clinical decision support platform designed for hospitals and healthcare systems across the GCC.

The timing reflects growing pressure on Gulf healthcare systems to improve clinical outcomes while managing rising patient volumes and workforce constraints. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt collectively operate more than 2,000 hospitals, according to regional healthcare infrastructure estimates. At the same time, the global cost of medical errors continues to burden healthcare systems with billions of dollars in preventable losses annually.

Unlike diagnostic AI tools that attempt to replace clinicians, HakeemDx is positioned as workflow infrastructure. The platform integrates directly into hospital systems, including electronic medical records (EMRs) and laboratory platforms, to provide real-time, evidence-based clinical guidance in both Arabic and English.

That bilingual capability is strategically important. GCC healthcare systems rely on multinational clinical workforces, while Arabic remains essential for regional healthcare delivery and compliance.

What Makes HakeemDx Different From Other Healthcare AI Platforms?

Clinical decision support is one of healthcare technology’s most promising — and most difficult — categories.

Many healthcare AI platforms fail because they operate outside existing clinical workflows, generating alert fatigue and low adoption among clinicians. Successful platforms integrate directly into the systems healthcare professionals already use.

HakeemDx follows the integration-first model.

By connecting with EMRs and laboratory systems, the platform accesses patient-specific data such as:

• Medical history
• Current medications
• Laboratory results
• Clinical risk indicators
• Treatment pathways

That distinction matters. AI systems operating on contextual patient data deliver more relevant recommendations than generic clinical reference databases.

How HakeemDx Fits Into GCC Healthcare Infrastructure

Feature	Strategic Importance
Arabic and English support	Aligns with GCC clinical workflows
EMR and lab integration	Enables real-time patient-specific guidance
SaaS business model	Creates recurring institutional revenue
Hospital-focused deployment	Supports workflow embeddedness
AI-driven recommendations	Improves decision-making efficiency

The company’s SaaS model is also aligned with institutional procurement trends across Gulf healthcare systems. Hospitals and healthcare payers increasingly prefer subscription-based software tied to operational workflows over one-time licensing structures.

Over time, deeply integrated systems create stronger switching costs and higher long-term retention.

Why Is GCC Healthcare AI Becoming a Major Investment Category?

The Hakeem Health round signals broader investor conviction around healthcare AI across the Middle East and North Africa.

For Merak Capital, the investment reflects a wider thesis around AI-driven productivity gains across enterprise sectors. Healthcare remains one of the region’s largest untapped opportunities for operational AI deployment.

Meanwhile, Sanabil 500 (a joint initiative between Sanabil Investments and 500 Global) brings strategic early-stage network access and regional scaling support.

The investment also aligns with broader government-led healthcare transformation initiatives across the GCC, including:

• Saudi Vision 2030 healthcare digitisation goals
• ADGM healthcare innovation programmes
• Hub71 healthtech startup ecosystem expansion
• NEOM smart healthcare infrastructure initiatives

Across Saudi Arabia and the UAE, governments are prioritising AI-enabled healthcare systems, digital patient records, and operational automation as part of national economic diversification plans.

Why Does Clinical Workflow Integration Matter in Healthcare AI?

Healthcare AI adoption depends less on algorithm quality alone and more on workflow compatibility.

Hospitals operate under highly regulated, time-sensitive environments where clinicians cannot afford operational friction. AI tools that interrupt workflows are often ignored, regardless of technical sophistication.

This makes integration a critical competitive advantage.

HakeemDx’s integration with hospital infrastructure positions it within the daily operational workflow of clinicians rather than outside it. That embeddedness increases the likelihood of long-term adoption and recurring usage.

For institutional buyers operating under Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation standards, measurable clinical impact will be essential before scaling deployments across hospital networks.

What Does This Funding Mean for the GCC Healthtech Ecosystem?

For much of the last decade, GCC digital health investment concentrated on patient-facing applications such as:

• Telemedicine
• Appointment booking platforms
• Pharmacy delivery apps
• Wellness marketplaces

The infrastructure layer received significantly less investment.

That dynamic is beginning to shift.

Healthcare systems across the GCC are now prioritising operational efficiency, AI-assisted diagnostics, and hospital workflow optimisation. As regional healthcare spending continues to rise, infrastructure-focused platforms are becoming increasingly attractive to investors and policymakers alike.

A successful rollout of HakeemDx could also create downstream opportunities for adjacent sectors, including:

Adjacent Sector	Potential Impact
EMR providers	Increased integration demand
Health informatics firms	Expanded analytics opportunities
Laboratory software providers	Infrastructure compatibility growth
Medical education institutions	AI-assisted training applications
Healthcare payers	Improved clinical efficiency tracking

What Should Investors and Hospitals Watch Next?

The next 12 months will likely determine whether Hakeem Health can establish itself as a defensible healthcare infrastructure player in the GCC.

Several execution factors will be critical.

Institutional Adoption

The speed of deployment across hospitals, universities, and healthcare payers will determine whether HakeemDx becomes operationally embedded inside healthcare systems.

Clinical Validation

Hospitals require evidence-based outcomes before committing to large-scale platform contracts. Published clinical impact studies and measurable efficiency improvements will become major commercial assets.

Multilingual Expansion

While Arabic-English support is already a differentiator, future expansion into languages such as Urdu, Hindi, and Tagalog could significantly increase adoption across Gulf healthcare workforces.

Regulatory Alignment

Healthcare AI platforms operating across GCC markets must navigate evolving compliance frameworks, patient data regulations, and interoperability standards.

As Gulf governments accelerate AI adoption in healthcare, companies capable of combining localisation, workflow integration, and clinical validation are likely to capture increasing institutional demand.

Executive Perspective

Abdulelah Alshareef, Principal of Venture Capital at Merak Capital, described healthcare as one of AI’s highest-impact sectors, citing faster and more accurate clinical assessments as key drivers for improved patient outcomes.

Bilal Adi, Founder and CEO of Hakeem Health, said the funding would support regional expansion and continued development of AI tools clinicians can trust.

 

 

 

 

 

FAQ

1. What is HakeemDx?
HakeemDx is an AI-powered clinical decision support platform developed by Hakeem Health. It integrates with hospital EMRs and laboratory systems to provide real-time, evidence-based guidance to clinicians in Arabic and English.

2. Who invested in Hakeem Health?
Saudi-based Merak Capital led Hakeem Health’s $1.65 million funding round alongside Sanabil 500, a joint initiative between Sanabil Investments and 500 Global.

3. Why is healthcare AI growing in the GCC?
Healthcare AI adoption is increasing across the GCC due to rising patient demand, workforce pressures, Vision 2030 healthcare digitisation strategies, and government investment in AI-enabled infrastructure.

4. How does HakeemDx integrate with hospitals?
HakeemDx integrates directly with electronic medical record systems and laboratory platforms, allowing the AI system to access patient-specific clinical data in real time.

5. Why is bilingual healthcare AI important in the GCC?
Arabic-English healthcare AI platforms are important because GCC healthcare systems operate with multilingual workforces while requiring Arabic-language accessibility for regional healthcare delivery and compliance.